Aftermath
by SarahthePuppyLover
Summary: This is my first FanFiction story. It's NCIS and is set immediately after the Season 10 "Berlin" episode. DISCLAIMER: I do not own NCIS nor will I ever own NCIS. If I did there would be an ongoing Tiva and McAbby, and fewer major character deaths.
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs looked at his agent through the glass doors of Bethesda's emergency room. The man had blood stains on his right cheek and hand, and his clothing was ripped and wrinkled. He had a few cuts and bruises here and there but otherwise looked okay. Physically, that is. Gibbs could see the pain in his eyes as he pushed through the doors and made his way over. He sat down in the chair next to Tony and looked him straight in the eye.

"You okay?" he asked, though he knew the senior field agent was anything but that.

"I'm fine. Just worried about Ziva."

"Yeah, me too." Gibbs agreed. He and Vance had driven over as soon as they'd heard. Ziva had been rushed into surgery, while Tony was cleared with a few sprains and other minor injuries. He could tell that the man was really struggling to just sit and wait on word about his partner.

"Hey, look at me. It's not your fault, DiNozzo. Ziva's a strong person. She'll pull through." He didn't know what else to say, so he just kept Tony company until finally the doctor appeared. The two men stood up and looked at the doctor expectantly.

"Ms. David suffered a major concussion, has several broken ribs and a broken wrist. She's in recovery right now. The next few hours will confirm my thoughts, but I believe she'll be just fine and will be up and around within the next couple of days. Pretty lucky considering the size and speed of the vehicle that hit you."

With this said Gibbs and DiNozzo let out a collective sigh and asked the doctor when they could see her. After he told them he'd send a nurse down as soon as they could, they thanked him and sat back down again. After a few minutes of silence Gibbs stood up, pulled out his phone and dialed McGee's number,

"Better update everyone on what's going on." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts.

_How did this happen? One minute we're holding hands and the next we're spinning out of control and there's blood everywhere and Ziva's not moving . . . _He shook the image out of his head. She was okay now, she was alive and safe and okay.

After another fifteen minutes or so a nurse came in and motioned for him to follow. Gibbs walked back into the room just as Tony was leaving and accompanied him up to Ziva's room.

She was asleep when they got there. Her skin was pale and she had bruises on her arms and neck. The standard heart monitor stood beeping next to her, and several IV's were in her arm. Gibbs had never seen Ziva in the hospital. He didn't like it, how she looked so hurt and vulnerable. He stopped in the doorway and let Tony walk in alone. He figured that the man needed a moment to see her and gather his thoughts some more. Besides, Abby and the others would be arriving soon, and he needed to get to them before his crazy Goth screamed at the nurses to tell her Ziva's room number. As he walked away he could here Tony quietly sobbing.

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"Giiiibbbbbsssss!" Abby threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly before pulling back and looking at him with a concerned look.

"Hey, Abbs." He gave her a tired smile and showed her and the rest of the team to where Ziva was.

Tony was sitting next to Ziva, holding her hand and simply watching her with a look somewhere between relief and guilt. When he saw the others he quickly got up to greet them. Abby gave him a big hug and asked him how he was doing.

"I'm doing alright, Abby, thanks."

Now that everyone had seen Tony and Ziva and knew they were okay, they politely excused themselves and said good night. Before leaving, Abby gave Ziva a hug, careful not to hurt her or disrupt any of the monitors and IV's. After everyone had left and only Tony and Gibbs were in the room, Tony took a break and went to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

Gibbs walked over to Ziva's bedside and gently held her hand. Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"We'll find out who did this." He whispered with anger and determination in his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Thanks guys so much for reviewing! I love the positive responses. Sorry for any details/information from the show that might be wrong (such as the car that hit Tony and Ziva – couldn't see it too well). So some of you want me to keep writing, which I will, but from the beginning I wasn't sure how far I wanted this to go. It'll wrap up pretty fast. Maybe just three more short chapters. Again, thanks for reading, and I'm really glad you liked it! This chapter has a little TIVA in it. Enjoy!

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Tony awoke in his uncomfortable hospital chair, his neck stiff and back aching from leaning over the bed all night. He held Ziva's hand while she slept; still under the pain medication she'd been given. A soft light came in through the window, confirming that it was in fact morning. He laid his head back down on the bed and listened to the sound of Ziva's heartbeat, comforted by its slow rhythm and the fact that it proved she was still alive.

After a while Gibbs walked in and told DiNozzo to get some breakfast in the cafeteria. He'd stay with Ziva while he was gone. Gibbs had done this last night, after the rest of the team had visited. Tony wondered how hard all this must be on him, seeing his agents hurt and feeling responsible for it all. Tony sighed. It was his own fault, not Gibbs'.

_If only I'd anticipated that someone might attack us. If I'd just seen it coming. . ._

"DiNozzo." Gibbs spoke a little louder, knocking Tony out of his self-loathing thoughts and back into reality. He and Ziva were in the hospital. They were here and they were safe.

"Go, Tony. I'm not asking." Gibbs pushed, though his tone wasn't commanding. He sounded concerned, like a parent.

"Got it, Boss." And with that Tony got up and headed for the cafeteria.

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Back at the office, McGee frantically typed away on his keyboard, going over the security footage from the accident… or should he say the videos from the attempted murder of two of his coworkers? McGee thought about how the vehicle that had hit Tony and Ziva had vanished before anyone could get to the scene. Suddenly anger rose up inside of him. He was surprised at this, as he wasn't the type that usually got angry. It wasn't a normal reaction for him. McGee quickly whisked the discomfort away, however.

_This isn't a normal situation. _He thought. _Anger is perfectly understandable. _

He hoped that the evidence they'd gotten at the site of the car crash would give them a lead, nothing had turned up on his end.

Abby stood was in her lab, analyzing everything as fast and efficiently as she could. It wasn't much: tire marks, Tony's beat up car, broken glass… at least there had been one intriguing piece of evidence. Some fingerprints were on bits of the broken glass they'd found. She guessed it belonged to the hit and run car, and hoped it would lead them to whoever it was that had done this to her Tony and Ziva.

_I'll get this guy no matter what. He won't get away with hurting my friends." _And that's when she saw a match pop up on the computer screen . . .

McGee was about to put on another security tape when the elevator doors opened with a ding. Abby came running around the corner with a Caf-Pow in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

"I GOT SOMETHING!" Abby screamed.

"You did?!" McGee asked with excitement.

Instead of answering him Abby simply flung the piece of paper at him. McGee grabbed it and quickly looked it over.

"So this confirms what we already thought: that the treadmarks I photographed line up with those of the black SUV, and the…_blood_… and glass found at the scene came from Tony's car."

"Mhhhmmmm…" Abby replied, a sign for him to continue. Before he could, however, she burst out, "_Aaaaannnndd_ some of the glass also belonged to the black SUV!"

"How do you know that?"

"Well, it just so happens that the fingerprints on those pieces of glass belong to one Ilan Bodnar!"

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Tony got off the phone with McGee. So Bodnar WAS still in the U.S.

_Now we'll catch him for sure._ Tony thought triumphantly as he sat down in the now empty hospital chair - Gibbs had left for the office as soon as he'd heard about Bodnar's fingerprints. Tony was so distracted by this new information that he didn't even notice the person looking at him from the hospital bed.

"Did we get a lead on Bodnar?"

Tony laughed and opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it and looked up at his partner in shock.

"Ziva, you're awake!" He got up and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his and staring into her eyes. "I'm so sorry all this happened. It shouldn't have, I should've known Bodnar would do something like this-" Before he could finish, however, Ziva leaned forward and kissed him. He started in surprise, but then kissed her back, trying to show her how sorry he was for all that had happened.

After a while Ziva pulled back so she could see Tony's face.

"I love you, Tony. Nothing will ever change that."

"I – I love you too, Ziva." Tony was relieved to finally let his true feelings out. They smiled at each other and then embraced each other in a hug. They had finally found each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

**A/N: **Sorry for waiting so long to post the next chapter. It's testing time and there's a lot to study for! I'd originally planned on finishing the story before the new episode came out, but obviously that didn't happen (whoopsies). Here's chapter three. There'll be four total.

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Ducky closed the metal door on the Mossad officer's body. He had finished the autopsy long ago, and wondered when Director Elbaz would be sending the officer back to Israel for burial. When the case was solved and closed, he guessed. If it ever _got_ solved, that is. Dr. Mallard sighed and walked over to his desk, looking over all the papers he'd read and reports he'd filled out over this one stubborn case. Why did this happen? How could this happen? He wondered why his team was always so prone to misfortune.

*_Whoosh* _Gibbs entered the lab with two Styrofoam cups in his hands.

"Got you some tea, Duck." He handed Ducky one of the cups, and the tired doctor gratefully took it.

"How very thoughtful of you, Jethro." He opened the lid and breathed in the puff of steam that instantly escaped into the air. "How's everyone holding up?"

"They're okay. Ziva finally woke up. That put Abby in a positive mood."

"That's wonderful!" He smiled, and then instantly thought back to what had happened to her and Tony. "Poor dear. She's been through so much already. If we could only find this, _Bodnar._" He said the name with a significant amount of hatred.

"We will, Duck. It's just a matter of time." Gibbs tried to reassure him. "You find anything else about the Mossad officer?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." He turned to his desk and picked up one of the reports. "I had Abby analyze a substance I found under his fingernails. It turns out they were microscopic traces of sawdust. I suspect he'd been in a warehouse sometime within the twenty-four hours before his death."

"Alright, I'll have McGee check all the warehouses around where he was murdered… Maybe he was somehow connected to that black SUV that hit Tony and Ziva… Thanks, Duck." He turned around and walked out of the room.

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Several hours had passed since discovering the sawdust. McGee had tracked down every warehouse within miles of the scene of the crime. So far none had reported seeing or housing a black SUV. Frustrated, McGee nevertheless continued his search, determined to get something off of this much needed lead.

"_Ring_…_Ring_… Yes, hi. This is Special Agent McGee from NCIS. I was wondering if you've seen a black SUV around any of your warehouses within the last twenty-four hours…Yes, I'll wait…You have?!" Gibbs looked up from his desk with great interest. "Yes…no, that's all I needed…thank you." He hung up the phone and printed the address of the warehouse company he'd just called. "The owner claims he saw a black SUV pull into one of the rented out warehouses. It never came back out. That must be where Bodnar's hiding, Boss!"

Gibbs got up and grabbed his gear. "Nice, work McGee. Call Tony and tell him to meet me there."

"Ummm, okay… what did you want me to do after that?" He was confused on why he wasn't coming with him.

"I need you in MTAC, McGee. Pull up blueprints or something of the warehouse, and tell Tony and I what's where so we have some idea of what we're searching."

"Oh! On it, Boss!"

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Fifteen minutes later, Gibbs and Tony pulled up in front of the large warehouse McGee had found. McGee himself was in MTAC with Director Vance. He had been able to pull up a map of the building, and brought the other agents up to date on its general layout.

"It's 19,000 square feet. The main room's in the center with a bunch of smaller rooms surrounding it. It's a maze, Boss."

"Keep studyin' it, McGee. One step at a time."

"Right, Boss…Looks like the shortest path is through the back door and to the left. I'll guide you once you get there."

"You'd better, Probie." Tony said with more seriousness than he'd intended to.

They quickly got out of the car and pulled out their guns. With quick and silent steps, they made their way over to the back entrance, where they stood on either side of the door. When Gibbs gave the signal to move, Tony tried the door to find it open. They snuck in and immediately searched the hallway inside.

"Clear!" Tony whispered. "What's next, McGee?"

"Okay, make your way down the hall and follow it to the right, then turn on the second left and go through the first door on your right. There'll be a narrow corridor heading southwest towards the center room…"

Several minutes and fifty directions later, the agents approached the final turn into the main room. They moved forward swiftly and quietly, ready to fire if need be.

Gibbs gave instructions for Tony to circle the room to the left while he took the right. With that, he turned the knob on the metal door and pushed it open. Inside was someone facing a large screen. It eerily resembled that of NCIS' MTAC room. The man, his back turned to them, didn't seem to notice their entry. The agents followed their plan and circled the room, cautiously heading towards the lone figure, which stood unmoving in the glow of the screen. They got within ten feet of the man, when he suddenly flinched and reached for his gun on the table next to him.

"Freeze!" yelled Gibbs. "Federal Agents. Turn around with your hands up!" The suspect slowly turned to face them, revealing that he was in fact not Ilan Bodnar.

It was his brother, Yaniv.

"Surprise." He said with a smug smile on his face. "Didn't think you'd be seeing me again, did you?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in custody?" Tony asked the obvious.

"I escaped, though you probably already figured that out. You'll never find my brother, so you can stop looking. He's too good." Not a second later he lunged for his gun and managed to grab it before being hit by a shower of gunfire. Yaniv fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

"What was that?! Gibbs? Tony? _What's going on_?!" McGee's voice came ringing through the agents' ear buds.

"We're fine, McGee" Tony said. Then he turned his gaze over to Yaniv. "Boss?"

Gibbs was already approaching Yaniv's slumped over form. He bent down to see if the man had a pulse. After a moment he stood up and lowered his gun.

"He's dead." Tony lowered his gun as well, and they thought about the troubling question that now faced them.

_Where's Bodnar?_

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The smooth, white floors of Bethesda echoed with the sound of footsteps as a pair of large black boots made their way down the hall. The man walked with cold determination, looking at the room numbers until he found the one he was searching for.

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Gibbs revved the engine of his car and turned the street corners wildly, the vehicle screeching and leaving tire tracks all over the asphalt.

"Can't this thing go any faster!?" Gibbs swore under his breath as he pressed the pedal all the way down to the floor of the car. _I should've seen it. Bodnar wouldn't have been in the warehouse. It was too easy. He's going after Ziva. _

Tony hung up his cell. "McGee called ahead and warned security. They're searching the building now." He hoped that would bring some reassurance to them, but he sat in the passenger seat with the same mindset as his boss. They both felt guilty for not realizing Bodnar's plan sooner. There's nothing they could do about that now, though. All they could do now was drive and hope…

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Bodnar entered Ziva's room, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He'd waited decades for this moment, and now he could finally get what he wanted.

He approached the bed with slow, quiet footsteps. The outline underneath the blankets lay there, unmoving. He reached behind him and pulled his knife out. With a strong grip, he began to slowly raise the knife into the air …

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Gibbs pulled into the parking spot nearest to the hospital entrance. The two men jumped out of the car and pulled out their guns, ignoring the terrified looks of the people standing outside. The guards stopped them in the waiting room, obviously unaware that their agency was the one who'd called and warned security about Bodnar. Without hesitating Gibbs whipped out his badge.

"Federal agents! Follow me!" he shouted as he ran past the guards and headed for the stairwell.

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"Goodbye, David." Bodnar said as he plunged the knife down towards the bed. He smiled with satisfaction until he saw what he'd hit. It was soft, not a body. He pulled back the blankets to reveal a strategically placed pile of pillows. Refusing to acknowledge the fact that he'd just been tricked, Bodnar turned around and scanned the area.

"Very clever, David. But I will find you." He turned back towards the bed and began to plan his next move. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark figure rose up behind him and whacked him hard on the head with a metal pole.

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Gibbs burst out of the stairwell with Tony and the guards close behind him. He raced past the nurses' cubicle and towards Ziva's room. _Let her be okay. Please, let her be okay... _

By this time all of the hall lights that had been turned off for the night were switched back on, and Gibbs could see clearly into the space in front of him as he entered the room with his gun drawn.

"Ziva!" He stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw her. She was kneeling over an unconscious Bodnar, a look of both anger and pride on her face.

"I got him, Gibbs." she said with a tired but satisfied voice.

"Yeah, you sure did, Ziver." Gibbs walked over to her and embraced her in a protective hug. She hugged him back, then turned to Tony and hugged him as well. The guards walked over to the now semiconscious Bodnar, picked him up and led him out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: **Here's the last chapter! I hope you like it.

Gibbs stood in Director Vance's office, updating the director on the previous day's events and how Bodnar was now in the custody of the Department of Defense and would be tried for his crimes. The whole time he kept his arm around Ziva, who had been released from the hospital after taking down Bodnar and proving to the nurses that she was indeed ready to leave. She stood next to Gibbs with no expression on her face, staying quiet and looking around the room.

Gibbs finished his update, and Vance looked satisfied.

"Good work Gibbs. And . . . thanks. You don't know how important this mission was to me." Vance finished with slight uncertainty. He didn't like expressing his feelings; especially to Gibbs, who always did his best to hide his own emotions from others.

"Oh, I think I do." Gibbs said back, and the director nodded in understanding. Then Vance turned his attention over to Ziva.

"And thank you, Agent Dav- … Ziva. I suppose now we can both move on." Ziva raised her eyes to meet his. She saw the pain in them that she herself felt.

"Yes, I suppose so." She gave a small smile, and both Vance and Gibbs smiled with her.

Gibbs and Ziva left Vance's office and headed for the squad room. Tony sat leaning on his desk, Abby standing in front of him and listening to his story of how Ziva had gotten Bodnar.

"When we got to her room, she was standing over the guy with an IV stand in her hand. You should've seen him. He was knocked out cold . . ." Just then he noticed the two agents enter the room, and he and Abby turned to face them.

"Ziiiivvvaaa!" Abby ran over and gave Ziva a big Abby-hug. Ziva smiled and hugged her back. "Tony told me everything. The pillows under the blanket, hitting Bodnar with an IV stand?! So amazing!"

"Thanks, Abby. It was nothing." Ziva replied.

"Oh, come on. That was not nothing. THAT was ninja-assassin status." Tony stood up and walked over to Ziva. Ziva looked at him with bright eyes, and he looked back with an equally happy expression. Abby looked at them knowingly, breaking the silence with her chuckling. Gibbs walked up to them and lightly head-slapped them.

"Rule Number 12, people." he said with some amusement as he turned and made his way to his desk. The two agents laughed, but stood with a small distance between them. They knew their relationship couldn't show in the workplace. But Gibbs' lack of anger or even seriousness told them that he was okay with them carrying on outside of work. The two smiled, and for a while they all stood in silence, sharing a moment of relief for the case being over and the team being safe.

_*Ding*_

McGee, Ducky, and Palmer came walking out of the elevator. They joined the group, and everyone broke out in cheerful conversation. After a while they decided to go out to their favorite bar and celebrate. The team made their way towards the elevator and stairwell. McGee had his arm around Abby's shoulders, and Abby hugged him as they walked. Ducky and Palmer were deep in conversation about how Palmer's anniversary was coming up, and what he should get his wife of one year. Ziva and Tony held hands as they walked – work was over, after all. Gibbs followed behind the rest of the team, and took one last look at the squad room before getting into the elevator. He smiled. Everything had turned out perfectly.

**The End **

**A/N: **What did you think? Please review! Thanks for reading my story!


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